Real Life Example: How Not To Pitch Bloggers

Posted on 09/17/2009

The the latest episode of The New Mediology, Nathan and I discussed a PR blunder that relates to bloggers, marketing people, PR pros, and anyone interested in social media marketing in general. You can listen to the podcast (online or via iTunes) to get the full story.

The quick version is that several weeks ago the firm Brody PR pitched a large list of bloggers, podcasters, and social media/technology media outlets. The pitch itself was bad and missed the mark, but the way it was done and with a technical issue that went along with it, the whole situation made Brody PR a case study traditional PR people doing a poor job of understanding how to pitch in social media. The whole situation provided an opportunity for numerous bloggers to comment on the situation.

The bottom line is that anyone trying to reach out to people for business purposes using social media MUST understand what they're doing or it has a high probability of blowing up in their face. Just ask Brody PR. A mere Google search of "Brody PR" brings up numerous negative posts about this situation. That's hardly good for business but it's the reality of business today. In the words of my childhood heroes G.I. Joe: "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."

  • 9/18/2009 11:58:11 PM
    Well, my heart just aches for Beth Brody. It's hard to believe that email was the catalyst, although, I'm sure we all know that Beth was not the one to personally hit that send button. However, this ageny might really want to think about making refesher email training mandatory for the staff. Anyone who sends out email of any type these days has to understand the spam issue. To be identified with Satan is about as harsh as it gets. Bill, you and Nathan really have some good advice for Beth. She should immediately get to talking about what she is learning using as much humor as she can muster up. I mean really, how can anybody take being referred to as "satan" seriously. Perhaps Brody should think about how they could make a podcast of them being visited by the angels of the Christmas story where they go into the past to review this mistake, come into the present to see their reality, then go into the future to see how lovely their agency will be once they have learned their lessons then helping others do the same. I'm giggling about that now! But I hope they don't violate any copyright laws while making that podcast! And, all those bloggers and tweeple know that none of us is exempt. If we get up tomorrow there's a possiblility that we too could be called the satan of our industry because of a stupid mistake. IMHO, Beth's biggest mistake is being a PR agency that doesn't have a protocol in place for what to do in case of public errors. If they have one it should have immediately been apparent. Don't we know enough from all the big, hairy, really bad PR that these high profile people have been creating. The sooner someone says a genuine I'm sorry, the public starts to relax. And Bill, you already said it, there's really no little guy online because information can spread like wildfire and it usually picks up all kinds of stuff along the way to help it grow bigger. So we're all at risk of showing our weaknesses. I happened to read this great article by a blogger that @MichaelHyatt over at Thomas Nelson Publishers suggested about recovering after a big mistake. Here's the link - http://bit.ly/1l6bKK . Maybe we all should take notes because our day is coming. This article has a spiritual flavor, however, it's full of adaptable nuggets.
There are no trackbacks for this post.

Leave a Comment

Blog Post Comment Form
 Security code

Subscribe via Email

Instant Download

Bootcamp Purchase
Add to Cart

The Social Media Boot Camp is a digital resource to help you think strategically about social media and create your own social media marketing plan. You get 3 hours of audio, visuals, and worksheets.

Blog Roll

Categories

, 15 Megs of fame 2010 email stats 3 3D 7 deadly sins of Twitter adults texting stats Alison Groves american idol reaction anatomy of viral video Android app use angel summoner and bmx bandit Angry Birds stats Ann Handley Anthology Creative Apple AT-AT video Atkinson PR Atkinson PR Nashville authentic in social media average Facebook fans average Facebook user average Tweets per day Baby We Were Young bach jesu joy of man's desiring back to the future a capella back to work tips backwards buzzer beater shot bad blog titles bait and switch banner ads Barcamp Nashville batman dog batman meets riddler bed intruder song Best days to send email Bible sniffer Bing Bing stats Biola University black friday shopping prank blackberry problem video blog blog ideas blogging blogs Bob Ross bobcats jumbotron dancer BombBomb.com boot camp branding Burson-Marsteller business business blogging cable TV verses Internet Cafe Rakka case study casino couple dances catches categories of web 2.0 celebrity CentreSource Mixer Chilis Foursquare Chris Brogan chrome versus facebook Clean the fan song CNA Building Commentary Conor McCluskey content content as bait content ideas Content is the new promotion strategy content marketing content spectrum content strategy conversation balance score conversation strategy convince CEO for social media coupon stats crash videos crazy hail storm creative marriage proposal dancing with an ipod in public darth vader revealed Darth Vader trombone Dave Beronja Del.icio.us digg digital marketing digital marketing nashville Digital Nashville digital ROI Diners Drive-ins and Dives disconnecting from social media dog puppeteer domino's pizza stats Don Cherry Piano Desk don't be the best don't trust LinkedIn recommendations Don't use Facebook Don't use Foursquare double rainbow Double rainbow guy dowload f8 for marketers drop Twitter duck ride breaks ebook sales projections ebook stats email email stats embrace life psa employee celebrity Engage entrepreneur entrepreneurship Epic Gun Battle video Essure Essure video every business poops f8 for marketers pdf facebook facebook active users Facebook ads Facebook advertising stats Facebook app iPad Facebook Bandpages Facebook changes facebook changes for marketers Facebook comments Facebook decline Facebook engagement Facebook engagement tips Facebook Fan Page Facebook for Dummies facebook for nonprofits Facebook in real life Facebook infographic Facebook insurance Facebook Issuu facebook likes Facebook likes lead to sales Facebook likes stats Facebook mobile Facebook Nashville flood Facebook revenue Facebook search Facebook size change Facebook stats facebook stats 2011 Facebook video fail videos faking social media Farmville faux-thentic FeedBurner Fidelity Offset Printing finger paint artist finger painting Firefly Logic Geek Social Firefox fish Flickr Flip Video Fluxe Digital Marketing football fail for Forget the big fish Fortune 100 Foursquare foursquare active users foursquare stats Foxtrot double rainbow FreeConferenceCall.com friends of fans stats frog plays touch screen game funny car commercial funny ice cream server funny used car commercial future of mobile future of search future of social media Gap Foursquare Gavin Richardson Geek Breakfast Nashville get boss on board with social media get facebook likes Giga Pudding Gmail Gmail undo send gobbledygook good blog titles good morning america phil davison good qr code use Google Google Adwords Google alerts Google Analytics Google April Fools Day Google autocompleter Google calendar Google Chrome use Google docs Google hoaxes Google Keyword Tool Google maps Google Places google plus Google Plus growth google plus stats Google reader Google real-time search Google+ growth Gowalla Grand Rapids Lipdub Groundswell Groundswell ladder Groundswell updated Guest post guy on a buffalo hand model HDTV stats history of social media Hollerado home video commentary homeless guy golden voice How long links live how to disconnect from social media Hubspot Hulu Human 8-bit video human bicycle iGoogle Improv Everywhere Improv everywhere wedding improv toronto Indian pole acrobat Internet stats interviews iPad iPad Facebook iPad social media iPad stats iPad traffic stats iPad Twitter iPad Twitter app iPad use stats iPad Wired app iPhone iphone 4s stats iPod iPod Nano iStrategy conference Jason Elkins Jimmy Kimmel Live jobs from social networking Joe Penna Joel Widemer Joel Widmer john cade jumbotron dance Just for laughs gags Kate and Audrey explain social media kid catches first fish kids destroy home with flour kids explain social media Knoxville social media Knoxville social media training Korea' Got Talent language of smart Laura Click learning social media legacy centre for family business Life of links LinkedIn LinkedIn recommendations local news stats local search stats location based social networking location-based service stats Mafia Wars mariachi band serenades whale Mark Vidler marketing Marketing Over Coffee marketing pasteurization Marketing Profs Math teacher video Matthew Weathers meatball sundae media micro conference Micro Persuasion Microsoft Explorer mini motorcycle tooth pull mitch joel mobile ad click through rate mobile ad click thru rate mobile ad ctr Mobile coupons mobile email stats mobile marketing stats mobile mom stats mobile phone proximity Mobile search mobile stats mobile traffic stats mobile video stats mom facebook stats mom mobile stats momentum for business momentum in marketing moms on Facebook Monday's Stats monitoring monitoring competitors through social media mossy creek custom Mr. Bean in church music industry mysliceofpi MySpace mystery guitar man naked grandma family feud Nashcoctail Nashville Nashville church Nashville flood Nashville flood recovery Nashville flooding Nashville PR Nashville recovery nashville snowstorm traffic Nashville social media conference Nathan Moore Netflix stats New Fangled Web Factory new media new media marketing Nielsen social media report Nikki Klemmer Ning no permission for social media NPR iPad app nutcracker on glass harp OK Go old online advertising online video online video stats Oprah goat yell orabrush youtube Otto Graham Outreach Magazine parkour Paul Schatzin penn olson personal phil davison Picnik Pinnacle Financial Partners pinterest Pinterest growth Places Plot Device Podcamp Podcamp Nashville podcast podcasting podcasts Poke the box Poke the Box review pole acrobatics pomplamoose positioning super 8 movie POST method Preston Leatherman Price Is Right promoted Tweet cost promoted Tweet stats Promoted Tweets public relations pursue excellence QR Code qr code awareness QR Code Nashville QR code stats qr codes radio advertising rainbow guy ray carman Ray Sadler real-time search recruiters using social media reddit stats remarkable ice cream server Remi Gaillard Reply All commercial reporter hammer car reporter sprayed by sprinkler repurposing content responding to Facebook comments ReTweet picture ReTweeting yourself rhett and link Rhett and Link video Rich K and the Allnighters RISSO Facebook RISSO method for conversation RISSO social networking Robert Scoble RSS Scot Justice scotty american idol mom search engine optimization search terms second life SEO boot camp seo conference Nashville SEO training nashville September 11 tribute Seth Godin Seth Godin shipping ship list short film Simon Sinek smartphone stats Smells Like Rockin' Robin Smells Like Teen Spirit social social logins social media social media and the boss social media art social media batting practice social media boot camp social media boot camp nashville social media budgeting Social Media budgets social media case study social media celebrity Social Media Club Nashville social media deals social media efficiency social media ethics social media events Nashville Social Media Examiner social media for business social media gardening social media haiku social media in business social media in disaster social media is hard social media jobs social media learning social media leftovers social media marketing social media measurement social media meetup Nashville social media mindset social media mobile stats social media monitoring social media Nashville social media Nashville flood social media nativity social media nonprofits social media obstacles social media P.S. social media pasteurization social media permission social media philosophy social media poop social media PR social media problems social media ROI social media science social media scuff marks social media stats social media strategy social media success social media time budget social media training nashville social media unplugged social networking social phone social search soldier returns home soldier surpises family sponsored posts state of the Internet stats Steven Sharp Nelson strategy streaming media stats street ninja improv successful blogging sugar plum fairy glass harp Sung-bong super 8 movie super 8 movie marketing Super Mario Brothers violinist suspension bridge climb tablet purchase decisions tablet sales tablet stats tags team approach to Twitter tech review technology stats Teen Twitter stats teleseminar text message the Bark Side The Dirty Guv'nahs The Domino Project the hand model the Living Camera The Monday Stat List The New Mediology The New Rules of Marketing and PR the office parkour The State of Inbound Marketing tips toddlers and tiaras tom hanks toddlers tiaras Toyota Toyota funny commercial Toyota Sienna commercial Toyota swagger wagon Traditional media transparency Transparent Social Media Transparent Social Media Nashville Travis Robertson turkish ice cream server TV twitter twitter ad stats Twitter balance score Twitter clicks Twitter data Twitter for Dummies Twitter Nashville flood Twitter prediction Twitter Promoted Tweets Twitter real time search Twitter revenue Twitter search Twitter sins Twitter stats Twitter team approach Twitter users 2011 two screens underrated social media tools understanding social media unicorn after wisdom teeth vacation valuable vanilla ice social media Video video blog video conferencing video email Video of the week videos viral video ted williams virtual cfo Volkswagen fast lane VW star wars web 2.0 web 2.0 design web 2.0 marketing web applications web design web stats web trends Weylon Smith what pi sounds like widgets Wii Fit Wii Fit Parody Wikipedia Willis Tower Skydeck women mobile stats word of mouth marketing Wordcamp Nashville Wordpress year Yelp YouTube youtube case study Youtube viewership stats

Archives

  1. February 2012  (2)
  2. January 2012  (9)
  3. December 2011  (9)
  4. November 2011  (11)
  5. October 2011  (14)
  6. September 2011  (12)
  7. August 2011  (12)
  8. July 2011  (10)
  9. June 2011  (13)
  10. May 2011  (11)
  11. April 2011  (12)
  12. March 2011  (10)
  13. February 2011  (11)
  14. January 2011  (11)
  15. December 2010  (9)
  16. November 2010  (10)
  17. October 2010  (14)
  18. September 2010  (10)
  19. August 2010  (12)
  20. July 2010  (11)
  21. June 2010  (13)
  22. May 2010  (13)
  23. April 2010  (14)
  24. March 2010  (12)
  25. February 2010  (14)
  26. January 2010  (13)
  27. December 2009  (8)
  28. November 2009  (12)
  29. October 2009  (12)
  30. September 2009  (12)
  31. August 2009  (14)
  32. July 2009  (13)
  33. June 2009  (12)
  34. May 2009  (11)
  35. April 2009  (13)
  36. March 2009  (13)
  37. February 2009  (11)
  38. January 2009  (13)
  39. December 2008  (10)
  40. November 2008  (13)
  41. October 2008  (16)
  42. September 2008  (13)
  43. August 2008  (14)
  44. July 2008  (16)
  45. June 2008  (14)
  46. May 2008  (13)
  47. April 2008  (19)
  48. March 2008  (20)
  49. February 2008  (19)
  50. January 2008  (19)
  51. December 2007  (13)
  52. November 2007  (17)
  53. October 2007  (17)
  54. September 2007  (13)
  55. August 2007  (13)
  56. July 2007  (11)
  57. June 2007  (11)
  58. May 2007  (12)
  59. April 2007  (13)
  60. March 2007  (16)
  61. February 2007  (14)
  62. January 2007  (22)
  63. December 2006  (14)
  64. November 2006  (18)
  65. October 2006  (18)
  66. September 2006  (18)
  67. August 2006  (19)
  68. July 2006  (16)
  69. June 2006  (19)

© 2010 MicroExplosion Media - All rights reserved

Powered by NetEffect Services